Occidental Completes Anadarko Petroleum Acquisition

Occidental Petroleum Corp. completed its acquisition of rival Anadarko Petroleum Corp. after Anadarko shareholders on Aug. 8 voted overwhelmingly in support of the sale.

The companies had agreed to the transaction, valued at $55 billion (including debt), in May following a bidding war with Chevron Corp., which had initially offered $48 billion in its bid to buy Anadarko.

The acquisition of Anadarko adds a portfolio of international assets, including a prime position in the Permian Basin, to Occidental’s footprint. Occidental CEO Vicki Hollub expects to deliver at least $3.5 billion annually in cost and capital spending synergies from the combination, she said in a company press release.

“With Anadarko’s world-class asset portfolio now officially part of Occidental, we begin our work to integrate our two companies and unlock the significant value of this combination for shareholders,” Hollub said.

Hollub has also lined up asset sales and financings, including a $13 billion debt offering on Aug. 6, to support Occidental’s multibillion-dollar acquisition of Anadarko.

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The closing of the transaction required approval by Anadarko’s shareholders at a special meeting held on Aug. 8. The shareholders voted 99% in favor of the deal in which they receive $59 in cash and 0.2934 shares of Occidental common stock per share of Anadarko stock.

Notably, the deal didn’t include approval by Occidental shareholders due to a $10 billion financing agreement with Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc.—a move that has drawn the ire of activist investor Carl Icahn, who owns 4.4% of Occidental. Icahn has since launched a proxy campaign to replace four Occidental directors.

Effective after the end of trading today, Anadarko’s common stock will no longer trade on the New York Stock Exchange.

Emily Patsy can be reached at epatsy@hartenergy.com.